WRDA LEAKS OUT: Look for the Water Resources Development Act’s official introduction by EPW leaders Barbara Boxer and David Vitter sometime today, along with a summary of the key components of the complex legislation. If successful, the bill would be the first WRDA law since 2007 and the first in the post-earmark era. But MT readers don’t have to wait for a press release, we’ve got a draft copy of 284-pager for you to bone up ahead of the March 20 markup at 10 a.m. The draft contains titles for levee safety, inland waterways reform, Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund “prioritization” language, dam safety, innovative financing based on surface transportation’s TIFIA program and extreme weather provisions. Read it here: http://bit.ly/Z7QBlH

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Recent history: The 2007 bill was introduced in the House in mid-March, reported out of committee two days later, passed the full House in mid-April and after fiddling between the two chambers, hit President George W. Bush’s desk in November 2007. It was promptly vetoed, an action overridden by Congress a week later, according to GovTrack ( http://bit.ly/145fl6o).

New MT poll — WRDA win? Will both chambers be able to get a bill to the president’s desk that he will sign by the fall? Get those votes in before Sunday at noon: http://poll.fm/45b0t

DOT NEXT? President Barack Obama will nominate Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez as the next secretary for the Department of Labor today. That means that the Commerce Department and Transportation Department are the big Cabinet holes left. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood estimated to the AP it might take two months to replace him; it’s been 48 days since he announced his imminent(ish) departure.

CLOSURES STAYED: The FAA will briefly delay its decision on which of the 189 contract towers up for potential closure may be exempted due to a compelling national interest. David Grizzle, the FAA's COO, writes that in order to "review comprehensively" the "very large number of responses" from airports seeking an exemption, the final decision date will be March 22. FAA had previously said it would make a final decision today. Read it: http://bit.ly/15Uwmy3

CR action this week: The Senate is expected to pass its continuing resolution this week to keep the government and DOT funded — maybe even today — so it might be helpful the FAA delayed finalizing its closure plans, as there are amendments from Sens. Jerry Moran and Roy Blunt that would, ahem, blunt some of the sequester’s immediate effects on the nation’s skies. Senate leaders were working over the weekend on a list of amendments that will get votes or be included in the manager’s package — expect an update from leadership today on that front. The Senate comes into session at 2 p.m. and the amendment filing deadline is 4:30 p.m. When the bill clears the Senate, it’ll go back to the House. Rogers Report has the nitty gritty: http://politi.co/Z88sZQ

A TOWERING ISSUE: T&I Chairman Bill Shuster is still not on the same page with the administration on sequestration’s aviation impacts. At an Aero Club luncheon, Shuster compared the FAA’s need to trim $637 million by October to an experience the private sector is familiar with. He said the agency does not need to begin closing dozens of air traffic control towers on April 7, and instead can shift the cuts around in a way that doesn’t increase pain for Americans. The FAA declined to comment after Shuster’s remarks, pointing to earlier statements by FAA Administrator Michael Huerta that plainly disagreed with Shuster and other Republicans’ contention that air traffic controller cuts can be avoided.

Flex that flexibility: “Some agencies in government don’t have that type of flexibility, but the FAA does and they’re able to shift money around. So today they’re, I believe, starting to work diligently to find those solutions,” Shuster said, adding of the FAA: “This is a great opportunity for them to get out there and do what the private sector does and that’s figure out how to retool and improve what they’re doing, working with less money.” I’ve got more here for Pros: http://politico.pro/10YY51G

GOP piles on: Missouri Reps. Sam Graves, Vicky Hartzler, Billy Long and Blaine Luetkemeyer wrote to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta to press him on explaining the thought process behind the list the FAA developed for potential air traffic control towers. Read it: http://bit.ly/YwLR9q

** A message from the American Society of Civil Engineers: What grade will America’s infrastructure earn? Find out tomorrow when the American Society of Civil Engineers releases the 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, a comprehensive assessment of U.S. infrastructure conditions. Learn more at www.infrastructurereportcard.org. **

SHUSTER ON TAXES, FATIGUE RULES: Shuster touched on a couple more hot-button issues during his speech to Washington aviation insiders — MT figured readers who couldn’t make it would want the highlights.

Taxation: Shuster again sounded in step with Airlines for America’s National Airline Policy push, calling commercial airlines “the most regulated deregulated industry in America” and again breaking out the sin tax comparison. “I’m starting believe some people in this town believe it’s a sin to fly. Because the sin taxes are just as high as the airline taxes,” Shuster said, prompting a quick response from a prominent transportation source that disagrees with the chairman. “These supposed ‘taxes’ are not analogous to those for alcohol and tobacco because they are used to fund the ATC, customs and airports. Unless the airlines want to start paying for these things themselves, they probably need to keep the taxes in place and allow them to increase with inflation and population,” the source said.

Cargo carveout: The chairman again sounded hesitant to pursue one level of safety for cargo airlines and passenger airlines. “It’s a very different operation and we need to make sure we’re looking at it in that way instead of just trying to do what we typically do in Washington, D.C., and that’s one size fits all. Because it doesn't,” he said.

DREAMLINER TESTING PROGRESSES: Boeing said it expects to complete the testing necessary for recertifying its 787 Dreamliner within "weeks." But that doesn't mean the fleet will be flying again quite so quickly. Once that testing is done, the FAA will have to evaluate Boeing's data to determine whether it meets the criteria to recertify the plane as safe to fly. And so far, the agency has indicated it plans to take the time necessary to be methodical. Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation into the 787 incidents is ongoing, with an update due in mid-April. Kathryn brings the full update: http://politico.pro/XSPhYn

Shuster’s take: “We hope that in the next several weeks you’ll see after the testing’s done and stamped by the FAA that they’ll be back up in the airways in several weeks. … This company has put so much into it that they are not going to allow this to fail.”

BLUMENAUER: OBAMA ‘COMMITTED’ TO TRANSPO INVESTMENT: The Oregon congressman continues to be heartened by the president’s infrastructure leadership as Barack Obama tries to piece together a balanced bargain. “The president has talked about it repeatedly and I think he’s committed to it. And it’s important it be on the table, because if we’re going to have a bigger wrap around mini bargain — let alone a grand bargain — it ought to be including infrastructure investment,” Rep. Earl Blumenauer told MT. Blumenauer said Rep. Peter DeFazio’s “double indexation” idea has “real merit” — now the Oregon duo is waiting to hear back from the president as he studies the proposal.

James Lankford not so sure: The former T&I-er and current member of House leadership tweeted that while the president “wants new energy exploration revenue for car development,” Lankford prefers “new energy exploration revenue for roads for the cars to drive on.” We checked in with a representative for House Speaker John Boehner, who confirmed “Boehner still likes the idea” of tying energy revenue to infrastructure. Shuster said recently he thinks the CBO lowballed the revenue estimates last year.

SHARP CAMPAIGN: Rep. Ed Markey’s big push on overturning the TSA’s new knife rule comes right in the middle of his run for a Senate seat. Backed by flight attendant, pilot and air marshal unions, Markey’s “No Knives Act” helps him pick up some union support away from his sole primary opponent, Stephen Lynch, who is endorsed by nearly 70 unions. Scott lends his political insight to the controversial policy decision: http://politi.co/133Ba6L

CENTRAL VALLEY SPLIT: A slight majority of readers (52 percent) voted that the California High-Speed Rail Authority will break ground before the end of this year in our poll last week.

THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ)

- A freight derailment in Connecticut messed up Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor service Sunday; NEC trains are running a full schedule today but there might be delays. Follow @ AmtrakNEC for the latest.

- CDC says nearly 70 percent of Americans talked on a cellphone while driving in the past 30 days. http://1.usa.gov/ZPVjsW

THE COUNTDOWN: Sequestration has been in effect for 18 days and it’s been 48 days since Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced his departure. DOT funding runs out in 10 days, passenger rail policy runs out in 197 days, surface transportation policy in 565 days and FAA policy in 927 days. The mid-term elections are in 596 days.

CABOOSE — Lookin’ good: Our country has a pretty sweet history of grand rail stations, so we smile when we see unique stations preserved. One example: New York Subway’s 180th Street station in the Bronx, which just went through a restoration to bring it back to its 1917-era glory. Take a peek: http://bit.ly/13XWz08. For comparison’s sake, an undated photo of the station in the past: http://on.fb.me/YgET9h

CABOOSE’S CABOOSE: We just can’t resist pointing out that one of the votes today in the House will be on allowing the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby to be held on Capitol grounds in June. http://1.usa.gov/WQ7t6b

** A message from the American Society of Civil Engineers: What grade will America’s infrastructure earn? Find out tomorrow when the American Society of Civil Engineers releases the 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, a comprehensive assessment of current U.S. infrastructure conditions released once every four years. For the first time, the Report Card will be available as a digital application, complete with videos, infographics, state by state data, and other multimedia tools. It will be available free for download in the iTunes or Android store. Find out more tomorrow at www.infrastructurereportcard.org. **

** A message from the U.S. Travel Association: To make America competitive again, we need to be connected, to each other and the world. America has zero airports ranked in the top 25 globally, and that's more than just an embarrassment—it's a missed opportunity. Travel is critical to our country's trade balance, since it accounts for ten percent of all exports, and supports one in nine American jobs. If we're not connected through modern airports, America loses out. Investment in our country's infrastructure is an investment in connectivity, which is vital for our people, our economy, and our place on the global stage. Learn more: http://bit.ly/1QLPK5L **

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About The Author

John Burgess Everett is a congressional reporter for POLITICO. He previously was a transportation reporter for POLITICO Pro, Web producer, helping run POLITICO’s Twitter and Facebook accounts, and a contributor to the On Media blog.